Army Commander Meets The President

Today, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake who assumed duties as the 22nd Commander of the Sri Lanka Army called on President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat.

Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake met the President to formally inform the President of his assumption of duties as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army.

Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake during his formal courtesy call, informed the President that he has already set out his vision and future roles of the Army before a gathering of more than 300 Senior Officers, underlining the need to throw the Army’s full weight behind the development of the country.

Lieutenant General Senanayake further enlightened the President about his intentions to make some structural changes to the organization to elevate it to required modern standards, taking due cognizance of prevailing concerns and development efforts, related to nation-building, national reconciliation and fast changing social reforms in society.

He also mentioned to the President that he would like to run the Army with 1/3 of its strength for combat preparedness, another 1/3 for nation-building and the remaining 1/3 for Army administrative purposes.

The President extending his best wishes to the new Commander during the formal courtesy visit, gave his blessings on intended Army reforms and the organization’s onward-march as defenders of the nation.

Towards the end of the interaction, the Commander presented a replica of a sword to the President as a symbol of bravery and dignity of the organization.